Just Whip It…

This entry was posted in Cookies and tagged Cherry, Recipe, Shortbread on May 4, 2010.

...Whip it Good.

No seriously.

I'm sure you've tried those store bought shortbread cookies before. Then you must remember how they're so dense, crumbly and heavy. Well be prepared for a change in the winds. And what a wind. A wind that brings deliciously light, melt in your mouth soft and adorably pink little shortbread cookies. That's my kind of wind.

I think the secret is in the whipping. It aerates the dough and makes it light and fluffy, two words that you would not normally use to describe shortbread. So with all those air bubbles in it the dough rises a little even though there are no actual leavening ingredients. There's another way you've never thought of shortbread, am I right?

Speaking of store bought cookies, I don't think I can bring myself to eat anymore. I tried it last weekend. I wasn't planning on baking anything, but I had a craving for some chocolate chip cookies. I got those President's Choice Decadent Cookies. Let me tell you, decadent they are not. Bleh! They're just so dry, crumbly and, I don't know if I've been spoiling myself lately with oodles of sugar, but they just were not sweet enough.

Here's a good cookie test. If they're still sitting in the cupboard after a week you know you have a bad cookie. When I make a few batches of my Chocolate Chip Cookies, no word of a lie, they are gone within a day. That's a good cookie.

I made exactly four dozen of these Cherry Shortbread Cookies yesterday and today I'm missing half. I may or may not be responsible for a dozen of those disappearances. Ok yeah, I am. Cherry Shortbread Cookies Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Source: My own imagination.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup salted butter, room temperature 1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup corn starch 3 cup flour 1 cup diced maraschino cherries 2 tbsp maraschino cherry juice Printer-Friendly Version

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter, powdered sugar and corn starch until there are no lumps. Add the flour and whip it on high until it's creamy and fluffy. Add the diced cherries and juice then whip it up some more. You can't really over-whip it so don't worry.

Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, just enough to stiffen it slightly but not enough to harden all the butter.

Scoop a heaping tbsp of dough per cookie and gently roll it into a ball then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the balls of dough under your fingers. You could use the flat bottom of a floured glass to do this, but I used the quick and dirty method. Bake them for about 15 minutes until the edges are light golden brown. Carefully transfer them to to cooling rack. They are still very breakable when they're warm. Enjoy!